Bioparameter determining device with space-saving component for appendage

ABSTRACT

A space-saving structural component for a device, the device configured to non-invasively determine a tissue bioparameter of a mammalian subject, the component comprising a wall surface including a grooved recess and at least one shoulder; and a substantially flat cover, the cover configured to cover the wall surface by moving from an open position far enough away from the wall surface to allow insertion of an appendage of the subject into a chamber defined by the grooved recess and the cover, to a closed position, the cover comprising a flexible material that, in the closed position, elastically deforms away from the wall surface when the appendage is present in the grooved recess and restores to a substantially flat state when the appendage is absent from the grooved recess, wherein in the closed position, when the appendage is absent from the recess, the cover is adjacent the at least one shoulder.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to non-invasive apparatuses fordetermining a bioparameter and having a space-saving component forreceipt of an appendage of a person.

Portable devices for receipt of an appendage in a bioparameterdetermining device have a chamber for the appendage. Such devices arebulky.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the invention is a space-saving structural component for adevice, the device configured to non-invasively determine a tissuebioparameter of a mammalian subject, the component comprising a wallsurface including a grooved recess and at least one shoulder; and asubstantially flat cover, the cover configured to cover the wall surfaceby moving from an open position far enough away from the wall surface toallow insertion of an appendage of the subject into a chamber defined bythe grooved recess and the cover, to a closed position, the covercomprising a flexible material that, in the closed position, elasticallydeforms away from the wall surface when the appendage is present in thegrooved recess and restores to a substantially flat state when theappendage is absent from the grooved recess, wherein in the closedposition, when the appendage is absent from the recess, the cover isadjacent the at least one shoulder.

Another aspect of the invention is a portable device configured tonon-invasively determine a tissue bioparameter of a mammalian subject,comprising a light source providing light within the device; a digitalsensor; a processing unit; a space-saving component comprising: a wallsurface including a grooved recess and at least one shoulder; and asubstantially flat cover, the cover configured to cover the wall surfaceby moving from an open position far enough away from the wall surface toallow insertion of an appendage of the subject into a chamber defined bythe grooved recess and the cover, to a closed position, the covercomprising a flexible material that, in the closed position, elasticallydeforms away from the wall surface when the appendage is present in thegrooved recess and restores to a substantially flat state when theappendage is absent from the grooved recess, wherein in the closedposition, when the appendage is absent from the recess, the cover isadjacent the at least one shoulder, the chamber configured to receivethe appendage such that the appendage is deployed adjacent the digitalsensor and faces the light source.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, descriptions and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments are herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a photograph of a device shown from the front and side, inaccordance with e embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic illustration of a front view of the device 11,including a component 10 having a chamber 28 for an appendage, andincluding the appendage, in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2B is a schematic illustration of a front view of the device 11,including a component 10 having a chamber 28 for an appendage, butwithout the appendage, in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic view from the side of a device 11 that shows anappendage configured to face a light source and to cover a digitalsensor within the device, in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratingthe general principles of the invention, since the scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

The present invention generally provides a space-saving bioparameterdetermining device (for example a non-invasive glucose monitoring devicethat processes a picture of a finger inserted into a chamber therein)that when closed and when the appendage is not inserted in the deviceoccupies a compact volume. Only when the appendage is inserted in thedevice, or if the cover of the device is opened, does the chamberdefined by the cover and wall surface expand. A flexible portion of thecover is configured to deform elastically away from the wall surfaceupon insertion of an appendage, such as a finger. The cover is generallyflat when the appendage is not inserted into the chamber of the device.This way, storage space is not utilized until the actual short intervalduring which the appendage is inserted. The wall surface may have agrooved recess and at least one shoulder.

The cover covers the wall surface by moving from an open position farenough away from the wall surface to allow insertion of an appendage ofthe subject into a chamber defined by the grooved recess and the cover,to a closed position, the cover comprising a flexible material that, inthe closed position, elastically deforms away from the wall surface whenthe appendage is present in the grooved recess and restores to asubstantially flat state when the appendage is absent from the groovedrecess, wherein in the closed position, when the appendage is absentfrom the recess, the cover is adjacent the at least one shoulder.

Accordingly, the cover is configured to cover the chamber, when theappendage is inserted in the chamber, such that light from the lightsource within the device is isolated from light outside the device, suchas ambient light in the room in which the device is located. Thisoptimizes the performance of the device, for example by maximizing thesignal to noise ratio that the processor receives from the digitalsensor.

The principles and operation of a Bioparameter Determining Device WithSpace-Saving Component for Appendage may be better understood withreference to the drawings and the accompanying description.

As shown in FIG. 1, a device 11 configured to non-invasively determine atissue bioparameter (for example glucose) of a mammalian subject has aspace-saving structural component 10. Component 10, in one embodiment,comprises a wail surface 20 including a grooved recess 22 and at leastone shoulder 24. Component 10 also comprises a cover 30 that may besubstantially flat 8. Grooved recess 22, viewed from side to side whenfacing the device 11 from the front as shown in FIG. 2A, for example, isat least one of (i) substantially semi-arcuate and substantiallyU-shaped. In one non-limiting example, the depth of the grooved recessis sufficient to accommodate a thickness of an average human finger.Many other variations of the depth are possible in accordance with theinvention.

In certain embodiments, cover 30 is configured to cover wall surface 20by moving from an open position far enough away from the wall surface 20to allow insertion of an appendage 15 (FIG. 2A), for example a finger,of the subject into a chamber defined by the grooved recess 22 and thecover 30, to a closed position. The expanded state of chamber 28, due tothe presence of appendage 15 and the nature of cover 30, is seen in FIG.2A.

As shown further in the particular embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 and inFIGS. 2A-2B, cover 30 also comprises a flexible material 32. In theclosed position, when appendage 15 is absent from the recess, as shownin FIG. 2B and when appendage 15 is present as shown in FIG. 2A,flexible material 32 covers the groove. Flexible material 32 is elastic.In some embodiments, flexible material 32 is one of, or a combinationof, rubber, foam and silicon.

Flexible material 32, in the closed position, may elastically deformaway from the wall surface 20 when the appendage 15 is present in thegrooved recess 22 (FIG. 2A) and may restore to a substantially flatstate when the appendage 15 is absent from the grooved recess 22 (FIG.2B). Furthermore, in the closed position shown in FIG. 2B, when theappendage 15 is absent from the recess 22, cover 20 may be adjacent theat least one shoulder 24.

As seen from FIG. 3, device 11 in some embodiments has a digital sensor13 and a light source 14. Light from the light source impacts theappendage 15, traverses the tissue in the appendage, and then impactsthe digital sensor 13 to produce an image. A. processing unit 16receives a signal (for example corresponding to spatial-temporal colorpixel information of the image) from the digital sensor 13 and processesit, yielding a bioparameter value, which may be displayed on a display(not shown). Accordingly, the chamber 28 is configured to receive theappendage 15 such that appendage 15 is deployed adjacent the digitalsensor and faces the light source, for example axially, as shownschematically in FIG. 3 (with the arrow showing direction of light fromlight source 14 impacting tip of a finger 15 axially).

In the closed position, as shown schematically in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B,cover 30 contacts the at least one shoulder 24 (in other embodimentscover 30 stops just short of contact, as controlled by hinge 36).Accordingly, cover 30 is configured to cover chamber 28, when appendage15 is present in chamber 28 on the grooved recess 22 and cover 30 isclosed, such that light within the device 11 (for example from lightsource 14), and most particularly light within chamber 28, is sealed offfrom, or at least substantially sealed off or isolated from, lightoutside device 11, for example from ambient light in the room in whichthe device 11 is located.

In the simplest embodiment shown in FIG. 1, grooved recess 22 is in acentral portion of wall surface 20. Accordingly, the at least oneshoulder 24 comprises two shoulders 24 a, 24 b of relatively equalwidth. In this case, moreover, flexible material 32 is in a centralarea, or is in at least a central area, of cover 30 (along the dimensionmoving from one side of device 11 to the other side) because recess 22is in a central portion of wall surface 20. In other embodiments, recess22 is less centrally located, or located from a side edge of wallsurface 20, in which case the at least one shoulder 24 is only oneshoulder 24 in some embodiments. Furthermore, although the at least oneshoulder 24 is shown in the figures as flat or at least substantiallyfiat or substantially planar, certain other embodiments could utilize atleast one shoulder that is not flat, such as curved. In that case, itwould be expected that a lower surface of cover 30 would at leastgenerally conform to the contour of at least one shoulder 24, and besimilarly curved, to create the sealing or substantial isolation ofchamber 28 mentioned above from light outside the device 11.

In one non-limiting example, as shown in FIG. 1, in the closed position,an outer surface 30 a of the cover 30 is substantially level with aremaining outer surface 11 a of the device 11 to form together a facadeof the device 11. Although this is not a requirement, it serves tofurther save space.

Cover 30 may swing for example on a hinge 36 whose range of motion isfrom zero to as much as 180 degrees in some options. In someembodiments, cover 30 is at least one of: (i) hinged and (ii) flexes onan axis distal to an initial point of insertion of appendage 15. Forreference, the initial point of insertion of appendage 15 is in thefront of the device 11 where the appendage passes front wall 40 (FIG.1).

In fact, in some embodiments, in the closed position, in the absence ofthe appendage, the cover 30 locks into the wall surface 20 for exampleby means of prongs 34. As shown in FIG. 2A in dotted lines, prongs 34penetrate shoulders 24 a, 24 b of component 10 of device 11 and lockcover in place to ensure that the space-saving compactness of component10 and device 11 is not lost by accidental opening of cover 30. In someembodiments, in the closed position, in the absence of the appendage 15,a bottom surface 30 h (see FIG. 2B) of cover 30 touches wall surface 20(irrespective of the existence of any prongs 34).

One embodiment of the invention is a portable device configured tonon-invasively determine a tissue bioparameter of a mammalian subject,comprising: a light source; a digital sensor; a processing unit and aspace-saving component.

Any or all of the structural features of the space-saving component 10described above apply as well to this embodiment defined to be thedevice 11 that includes the space-saving component 10. For example, thespace-saving component may comprise a wall surface including a groovedrecess and at least one shoulder; and a substantially flat cover, thecover configured to cover the wall surface by moving from an openposition far enough away from the wall surface to allow insertion of anappendage of the subject into a chamber defined by the grooved recessand the cover, to a closed position, the cover comprising a flexiblematerial that, in the closed position, elastically deforms away from thewall surface when the appendage is present in the grooved recess andrestores to a substantially flat state when the appendage is absent fromthe grooved recess, wherein in the closed position, when the appendageis absent from the recess, the cover is adjacent the at least oneshoulder, the chamber configured to receive the appendage such that theappendage is deployed adjacent the digital sensor and faces the lightsource.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,modifications and other applications of the invention may be made.Therefore, the claimed invention as recited in the claims that follow isnot limited to the embodiments described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A space-saving structural component for a device,the device configured to non-invasively determine a tissue bioparameterof a mammalian subject, the component comprising: a wall surfaceincluding a grooved recess and at least one shoulder; and asubstantially flat cover, the cover configured to cover the wall surfaceby moving from an open position far enough away from the wall surface toallow insertion of an appendage of the subject into a chamber defined bythe grooved recess and the cover, to a closed position, the covercomprising a flexible material that, in the closed position, elasticallydeforms away from the wall surface when the appendage is present in thegrooved recess and restores to a substantially fiat state when theappendage is absent from the grooved recess, wherein in the closedposition, when the appendage is absent from the recess, the cover isadjacent the at least one shoulder.
 2. The device of claim 1, whereinthe device has a digital sensor and a light source and wherein thechamber is configured to receive the appendage such that the appendageis deployed adjacent the digital sensor and faces the light source. 3.The device of claim I, wherein, in the closed position, an outer surfaceof the cover is level with a remaining outer surface of the device toform together a facade of the device.
 4. The device of claim 1, whereinthe flexible material spans at least a central area of the cover.
 5. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the cover is at least one of: (i) hinged and(ii) flexes on an axis distal to an initial point of insertion of theappendage.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein, in the closed position,when the appendage is absent from the recess, the flexible materialcovers the groove.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein the grooved recess,going from side to side when facing the device, is at least one of (i)substantially semi-arcuate and substantially U-shaped.
 8. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one shoulder is substantially planar. 9.The device of claim 1, wherein the flexible material is elastic.
 10. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the flexible material is one of, or acombination of, rubber, foam and silicon.
 11. The device of claim 1,wherein the cover is configured to cover the chamber in a closedposition of the cover, when the appendage is inserted in the chamber,such that light within the device is substantially isolated from lightoutside the device.
 12. The device of claim 1, wherein in the closedposition, in the absence of the appendage, the cover locks into the wallsurface.
 13. The device of claim 1, wherein in the closed position thecover contacts the at least one shoulder.
 14. A portable deviceconfigured to non-invasively determine a tissue bioparameter of amammalian subject, comprising: a light source providing light within thedevice; a digital sensor; a processing unit; a space-saving componentcomprising: (a) a wall surface including a grooved recess and at leastone shoulder; and (b) a substantially flat cover, the cover configuredto cover the wall surface by moving from an open position far enoughaway from the wall surface to allow insertion of an appendage of thesubject into a chamber defined by the grooved recess and the cover, to aclosed position, the cover comprising a flexible material that, in theclosed position, elastically deforms away from the wall surface when theappendage is present in the grooved recess and restores to asubstantially flat state when the appendage is absent from the groovedrecess, wherein in the closed position, when the appendage is absentfrom the recess, the cover is adjacent the at least one shoulder, thechamber configured to receive the appendage such that the appendage isdeployed adjacent the digital sensor and faces the light source.
 15. Thedevice of claim 14, wherein the cover is configured to cover thechamber, when the appendage is inserted in the chamber and the cover isclosed, such that light within the device is substantially isolated fromlight outside the device.